The Oldest (and Youngest) US House Delegations in the 113th Congress

West Virginia and Oregon have the oldest multi-member delegations to the House with Kansas and Arkansas the youngest

Although the state saw the defeat of a then 67 year-old 14-term congressmen during the 2010 cycle (Democrat Alan Mollohan), West Virginia nonetheless claims the title of the oldest multi-member U.S. House delegation in the country for the newly convened 113th Congress.

That 1st CD seat was captured by Republican David McKinley, who is only four years Mollohan’s junior, and is now 65 years old.

Add McKinley to GOPer Shelley Moore Capito from the 2nd CD (59 years old) and Democrat Nick Rahall from the 3rd CD (63) and the state delegation clocks in at an average age of 62 years.

Only the single-member states of Alaska (Don Young, 79) and Vermont (Peter Welch, 65) are older than the Mountain State delegation.

Just five other U.S. House delegations come in at a collective average age of 60 years or older: Oregon at 61, and Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, and Texas at 60.

Even though Michigan’s 83-year old 18-term Democrat Dale Kildee was replaced by his 54-year old nephew Dan in the 2012 cycle after the elder Kildee’s retirement, the Wolverine State still cracks the Top Five due to long-serving representatives like John Dingell (age 86), John Conyers (83), and Sander Levin (81) – all born between 1926 and 1931.

No other Michigan Representative was born before 1951 with Republican maverick Justin Amash one of just six House members born in the 1980s.

Rounding out the Top 10 oldest delegations in the nation are California, New Jersey, and North Carolina with an average age of 59 years for each state’s respective representatives.

On the other side of the spectrum, Kansas Republicans Tim Huelskamp (44 years old), Lynn Jenkins (49), Kevin Yoder (37), and Mike Pompeo (49) comprise the youngest multi-member delegation in the House averaging just 44 years of age.

Kansas trails only the single-member state of South Dakota whose at-large U.S. Representative Kristi Noem is 41.

The other youngest House delegations in the country are Arkansas at 45 years, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Hawaii at 46, Nebraska at 48, Rhode Island at 49, and the single-member state of Montana at 50.

Overall, the average age of the 433 U.S. Representatives currently serving in the House is 57 years old.

The average aggregated state delegation age for the nine Northeastern states is 58 years old, with the 16 Southern states and 13 Western states at 55 and the dozen Midwestern states at 52.

Average Age and Birth Year of U.S. House Delegations by State, 113th Congress

Rank

State

Year

Age

1

Alaska*

1933

79

2

Vermont*

1947

65

3

West Virginia

1950

62

4

Oregon

1951

61

5

Connecticut

1952

60

5

Iowa

1952

60

5

Michigan

1952

60

5

Texas

1952

60

9

California

1953

59

9

New Jersey

1953

59

9

North Carolina

1953

59

12

Massachusetts

1954

58

12

New Hampshire

1954

58

12

New York

1954

58

12

Virginia

1954

58

12

Wyoming*

1954

58

17

Arizona

1955

57

17

Georgia

1955

57

17

Maine

1955

57

17

Maryland

1955

57

17

Minnesota

1955

57

17

Missouri

1955

57

17

Pennsylvania

1955

57

17

Tennessee

1955

57

25

Delaware*

1956

56

25

Kentucky

1956

56

27

Florida

1957

55

27

Ohio

1957

55

27

South Carolina

1957

55

27

Wisconsin

1957

55

31

Louisiana

1958

54

31

Mississippi

1958

54

33

Idaho

1959

53

33

New Mexico

1959

53

33

Washington

1959

53

36

Alabama

1960

52

36

Colorado

1960

52

36

Illinois

1960

52

36

Utah

1960

52

40

Nevada

1961

51

40

North Dakota*

1961

51

42

Montana*

1962

50

43

Rhode Island

1963

49

44

Nebraska

1964

48

45

Hawaii

1966

46

45

Indiana

1966

46

45

Oklahoma

1966

46

48

Arkansas

1967

45

49

Kansas

1968

44

50

South Dakota*

1971

41

* Denotes states with one at-large U.S. Representative. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

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